Of all the Marvel comics movies to come out so far, I think this one has the greatest potential capacity to be a huge damn mess. It just seems like there's so many things that can go wrong with trying to take a character like this and translate him to the live-action world.

Done right, and it could be a low-end LOTR sort of affair. If it's not done right, I could honestly see this being worse than Ghost Rider or either of The Fantastic Four movies.

It just seems like there's such a thin line in this one between kick-ass fantasy and high-budget camp.

^ Hiddleston was linked to the role of Thor, causing much 'but he's too skinny!' sort of indignation. Obviously, we were all overlooking the obvious.

As I said before, I Sky+'d Wallender but don't recall his role in the one I viewed -will be paying closer attention the next time. Moviehole.net is reporting that Marvel are deliberately casting unknown or little known actors for this movie, as oppose to the Downey jrs, Nortons etc of their other self-financed movies. Whether this is due to lack of confidence or possibly over-confidence in the project remains to be seen. Hopefully it shows just the right amount of confidence!

Certainly, Walt Simonson's take on the character greatly informs what we brought to the script although I wouldn't say we went to a specific story from his tenure on the book. We saw part of our job as taking all the many approaches to the character over the years (including the myths) and distilling them down into a form that worked for a two-hour movie. There's a tremendous amount of ground to cover, so inspiration has to come from everywhere.

Not in the sense that you'd want to see a generic "dark" take on Thor, but in the sense that you want to feel Thor's rage when he rages. You want to see him fight like hell, and take as much he dishes out -- maybe more. You want to have a visceral reaction to the guy, and what happens to him. You don't want his adventures to be clean and antiseptic. You want to see the dirt, and grime and blood. You want to feel every bone crunching moment of every fight. And when he unleashes the storm, you want to feel like you're seeing the power of a GOD at work.

'Loki's like a comic book version of Edmund in King Lear, but nastier,' Tom observed.
How much nastier? 'Well, Loki's skilled in black magic and scorcery. He's a shape-shifter and has all sorts of super powers from the dark arts. He can turn clouds into dragons, things like that.'
Between now and January, when Thor begins shooting, Tom has to keep himself fit and healthy.
'Ken wants Loki to have a lean and hungry look, like Cassius in Julius Caesar. Physically, he can't be posing as Thor.'

...actor Brian Blessed is the one-eyed all-father Odin in Kenneth Branagh's adaptation of the Marvel hero. The Shakespearean actor has teamed with Branagh in many films but fans best remember him as Prince Vultan, leader of the Hawk Men in the 1980 camp classic 'Flash Gordon'.

I was worried about Iron Man. I'm REALLY worried about Thor. So far so good. This is my all time favorite Marvel character, and arguably the toughest one to pull off. I can't wait, and I hope to hell it's good. Thor needs to be like LOTR good.

...actor Brian Blessed is the one-eyed all-father Odin in Kenneth Branagh's adaptation of the Marvel hero. The Shakespearean actor has teamed with Branagh in many films but fans best remember him as Prince Vultan, leader of the Hawk Men in the 1980 camp classic 'Flash Gordon'.

Blessed has worked with Branagh a few times before, so this seems legit. Of course, it could also be that someone has jumped to conclusions because of their working history ...

I've watched Hiddleston in Wallander, opposite Branagh and I think he'll be a good Loki. His role in Wallander is a little thankless, very much the sidekick but he has a sort of John Simm/ David Tennant quality to him that makes you think he'll bring a sort of impish air to Loki. Even with a supporting role, you do get the impression that this is a capable actor.

Interesting that while there was some talk of Loki being like Iago in Othello, he's now being compared to Cassius in Julius Caesar. This is certainly not going to be a run of the mill comics adaptation - for good or for bad!